Apparatus for enlarging and straightening wellholes



June 3, 1.952 c. E. BANNISTER APPARATUS FOR ENLARGING AND STRAIGHTENINGWELL-HOLES Filed Nov. 20, 19.4?

INVENTOR. [LYUE' E. BH/V/V/fi 75/ 1 "411W X). dZZbrr/a Patented June 3,1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OZF'FI-ICE APPARATUS FOR ENLARGING.STRAIGHTENIN G WELIIHOBES Clyde E. Bannister, Houston, Tex- ApplicationNovember-1'20, 1947, "Serial N 0. 281.1%

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for operating upon the wall of awell, as enlarging or straightening an oil-well hole or compacting thewall of the hole.

Its chief objects are to provide inexpensive and efiicient apparatus forthose purposes, and-to provide for facility and rapidity in theoperation of such apparatus.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section showing a well hole and, in operatingposition therein, apparatus embody-mg my "invention ini-ts preferredform,'par ts of the apparatus being sectioned and broken away.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fi 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 1.

The embodiment here shown comprises an elongated structure adapted to belowered and raised in the hole by means of a pair of cables l0, 10,secured to the respective arms of a yoke and fluid-coupling structurell, through which a hose 12, extending from the top of the ground, is incommunication with a fluid-coupling swivel l3 which supports the saidelongated structure.

This structure comprises, in order from the swivel downward, a heavyinertia member 14, an oscillating-type motor l5 (which can be of thetype shown and claimed in any of my U. Reissue Patent No. 19,397 or myU. S. Patents No. 1,965,564, No, 2,016,667 or No. 2,254,641), and areaming and/or compacting tool It.

The structure as a whole, comprising those three elements, is largest inits middle region and moderately tapers toward each of its ends, so thatit will find its way in a crooked hole and yet in its middle region willbe large enough to rapidly cut away and/or compact the wall at one sideof the hole, to straighten the hole, or to operate concurrentlythroughout the circle of the hole to enlarge the hole.

The motor [5 is adapted to receive its motive fluid from the hose [2through a central passage Il formed in the inertia member l4 and, by itsoperation, to oscillate its shaft I8, on which the tool It is fixed.

The motors shaft I8 is hollow and through it the spent motive fluid fromthe motor is passed into the tool member I6, which is hollow and isformed with exhaust holes l9, 19 near its upper end and an exhaust hole20 at the center of its rounded lower end-wall.

To provide ample flow space for the upward flow of exhaust fluid to thetop of the well and to provide scraping or rubbing elements, each of themembers l4, l5 and I6 is externally of longitudinally fluted form, asshown clearlyin il 'igs. 12,73 and 4. The form and size of .thetool,:how.ever, can :be varied.

in the operation .of the device, the inertia mom.- ber M, being rigidwith the casing .of the motor, sustains the reaction-of the motor:withoutsube stantial oscillating movement 'o'f its own, when the toolmember 1'6 :is relatively ?lig=ht, as ibyzreason of sbei-ng :of thin:walled construction, :as' .here shown.

Izdo vnot-.vv1h'o'1 ltyi li-mit my inuentionghoweuer, to an apparatus inwhich'the member fixed tothe motor shaft has relatively high amplitudeof oscillation, as the motor casing and its upward continuation, as inthe inertia member 14, can perform substantial reaming and/orcompacting.

As the device is lowered in the hole, with the motor operating, theassembly, by reason of its double taper and its rounded lower end, canfind its way, without jamming of its lower end against the wall of thehole, even in a hole having a high degree of crookedness, the reamingand/or compacting action of the flutes on the tool, and/or those on themotor casing and the inertia member, easing the passage of the assemblyin the hole.

The reaming and/ or compacting action is greatest at the middle regionof the assembly because of its relatively large diameter in that region,and, as to salients of the wall that are on the low side of an inclinedpart of the hole, the suspension of the device by the cables causesgravity to be a factor for urging the device against such salients, onone side and then another of the hole, and thus makes the hole morenearly vertical in all of its parts, while straightening it, whether ornot all of the hole is enlarged by the apparatus.

Flutes of more or less sharp form can be employed, according to whethera predominance of reaming or of compacting is desired, or a smooth,circular tool small enough to permit fluid to pass it in the hole. canbe used for compacting the wall of the hole.

The apparatus as here shown is designed for a predominance ofcompacting, plastering or mudding up of the wall of the hole, and, toavoid excessive washing effect of the upwardly moving exhaust fluid theexhaust hole 20 at the bottom of the tool It is of smaller flow capacitythan the holes 19 at its upper end. Yet it is of a size such as toprovide sufiicient up flow along the tool to carry cuttings and crumbsupward to the stronger current above the holes l9 and thus prevent themfrom settling through the water or drillers mud to the bottom of thewell.

Modifications are possible without departure 3 from the scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for enlarging and thereby straightening a previouslydrilled well hole, said apparatus comprising two oppositely taperedwall-engaging members of vertically elongated form, means for holdingthe two substantially in vertical alignment with their larger endsadjacent each other and in relatively rotatable relationship, each ofthe two said members being tapered to its end farthest from the other ofthe two said members, means for lowering and raising the assembly in thewell hole, means for effecting rotative movement of one of said membersin relation to the other, and means for conducting fluid to anddischarging it from a low part a of the lower member, each of the twomembers being externally of fluted form for enlarging the hole whilepermitting upward flow of the fluid between the flutes.

2. Apparatus for enlarging and thereby straightening a previouslydrilled well hole, said apparatus comprising a fluid-actuated motor ofthe shaft-oscillating type having an elongated, tapered casing, anelongated, tapered tool secured upon the shaft of the motor, with thelarger end of the motor casing and the larger end of the tool adjacenteach other, means for lowering and raising the assembly in the wellhole, and means for supplying motive fluid to the motor from the top ofthe ground, the said casing and the said CLYDE E. BANNISTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 19,397 Bannister Dec. 18,1934 1,357,475 Rigby Nov. 2, 1920 1,965,564 Bannister July 10, 19341,997,880 Watry Apr. 16, 1935 2,016,066 Bannister Oct. 1, 1935 2,166,937Bettis July 25, 1939 2,229,912 Baily Jan, 28, 1941 2,254,641 BannisterSept. 2, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 876,721 France 1 Aug.17, 1942

